The waiting is over

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Viv Thomson kicks himself - metaphorically of course - as he
realises his less than extraordinary marketing skills.

Here he's been sitting on the oldest pinot noir vines in
Australia - who knows, maybe even the world - and he has never
considered capitalising on it.

Anyone who has bought Best's pinot noir might well suspect
Thomson of simply cashing in on a trendy variety that's taking off,
but Best's at Great Western has had the grape a long, long, long
time.

How long? Try 1868.

In Thomson's defence, he didn't find out that his 1.2 hectares
of original plantings from 1868 included both pinot meunier and
pinot noir until the mid-1970s when a visiting French ampelographer
(grape-vine expert) identified the jumble of varieties.

The grapes - the rough leaf (pinot meunier) and the smooth leaf
(pinot noir) - were always picked and processed together and
released first under the name Miller's Burgundy and then pinot
meunier/pinot noir and finally pinot meunier.

They're still kept together, although now that Thomson realises
the marketing potential, he is considering making a separate pinot
noir from the ancient vines, a fine counterpoint to the pinot he
makes from younger vines. Or maybe not - he needs some
encouragement that it is a good idea.

It is. But before he even contemplates making a play with
old-vine pinot, he's planning to test the waters, to bring a little
of Best's history alive with a release of aged wines from the old
cellars.

Unlike some companies that might release one or two oldies each
year, Thomson is bringing out, en masse, 16 separate vintages
spread across six wines. It brings back memories of the great
annual Lindemans classic wine releases, except in typical Best's
understated style there are no dinners at The Windsor planned to
showcase their charms.

That they have charm, the warmth of taste and texture that comes
after being shut up in a bottle for long periods, is almost beyond
question.

Or is it?

Thomson wonders whether the wines he so enjoys will also be
enjoyed by a younger generation of drinkers.

"They like wines full of fresh fruit, so what they will think of
these wines I don't know," he ponders.

Best's Great Western chardonnay has always been an under-valued
wine, probably because there is simply so much chardonnay about and
Great Western is recognised more for its reds. But the style (like
its Best's sister, riesling) has always shown firm acidity and a
citrus punch, a wine more than suitable for ageing.

Of the three chardonnays to be released, the 1990 ($70.50) is
the brightest and sunniest, all citrus, stone fruit and pears, with
a light flintiness. "A cracker year," is Thomson's vintage
assessment.

The 1986 (also $70.50) shows more development: sweet honeysuckle
and toasty with a clean acidic zip on the finish. The 1989 ($65.50)
is easily the more developed, broader and with less zip but more
texture.

There's something here for every taste, which seems to be the
object of the Best's exercise.

The year 1991 saw the first pinot noir made from the "new" 1980
plantings. Before that, the young fruit was sold to Seppelt for its
sparklings or blended with pinot meunier. The 1991 pinot noir
($65.50) today appears earthy, leathery, with baked spice apples, a
wine almost dry-red in style. The 1992 ($74.70) pinot highlights
the dangers of old releases ("is it corked or just old and musty"),
with one corked bottle and one sweet, raspberry-fruit example.

The "unusual", cooler 1993 vintage ($94), one not well-suited to
shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, nevertheless suited pinot, producing
light herbal notes, licorice, spice and red berries over time. This
is a wine that makes the promise of an old-vine pinot appear very
appetising.

The jumbled history of the 1868 block of pinot meunier/pinot
noir and subsequent plantings of each variety is re-visited in a
release of 1981 and 1984 pinot meunier and pinot meunier/pinot noir
blends of 1987 and 1988.

The two pinot meuniers reveal a similar level of development,
the 1981 ($111) with its dried fruit, the 1984 ($94) with a
port-like raisin nuttiness.

It's hard to get a grasp on the style because pinot meunier is
rarely seen as a table wine. The grape usually plays third-string
to chardonnay and pinot noir in champagne or sparkling, so its
appearance as a varietal under the Best's label over the years has
stumped many a wine drinker. For a time, it was even marketed as an
early-drinking light dry red, so to consider it as an aged red
takes some getting used to.

Indeed, the pinot meunier and pinot meunier/pinot noir blends
might be better appreciated with less bottle age. Asking 20-plus
years of any wine is asking a lot.

The philosophy guiding museum wine releases is different for
every winery. Some cherry-pick only the best vintages, others like
to lay out a warts-and-all smorgasbord of styles. Best's falls into
the latter category.

The cabernets in particular reflect vintage variation, with a
firm herbal edge on an otherwise generous 1988 ($80.60), while the
1992 ($75.60) looked a little tired (two bottles were opened, one
was corked) for a vintage that experienced "substantial
unseasonable rain" around harvest time.

Thomson's biggest problem was not deciding what to release, but
the price.

"You don't want to give them away but you don't want to price
them out of people's reach," he says.

His dilemma explains why many wineries simply can't be bothered
with museum releases. Having paid tax on his stock every year (up
to 25 years in the case of the 1980 shiraz), the real value of the
wine today would be astronomically prohibitive.

It all goes back to 1973, a black year for winemakers, when
Section 31A of the Income Tax Assessment Act, which had offered a
deferral of tax payments until the stock was sold, was abolished.
It was a blow to producers who wanted to release aged wines,
forcing them to release wines early to maintain cash flow.

The greatest interest for many wine lovers will be in Best's
Great Western Bin 0 shiraz.

Ten years ago you might have easily pointed to the 1980 vintage
- an outstanding year - as the pick of the three wines Thomson has
chosen to release.

The 1980 ($111) is still a fine, elegant wine, a shiraz that
highlights Great Western's relative subtlety with the grape.
However, looking deeper and darker in colour with a range of
complex flavours - chocolate, old spice, dried fruit, licorice -
with good weight and texture was the exciting 1981 Bin 0 shiraz
($133). If only we could all age so gracefully.

This is not to suggest the 1986 Bin 0 shiraz ($109) is looking
its age. It's not. Full-bodied almost to the point of opulence, the
1986 is generous, warm and textural. A gorgeous wine.

"A reasonable harvest" is how Thomson described the vintage in
his private notes at the time - definitely a winemaker speaking
here, not a marketer.